The Desert

The Salton Sea is a vaguely noted area on our old Rand McNally map and Jimmy wants to go there. It is kind of, sort of on our way to the grand canyon, so we point the car in that direction and go.

In Loma Linda, in the Imperial Valley, aka the Inland Empire, we got off the highway to look for real food. We were aiming for some other place but the traffic snarl forced a second choice and we landed at the Kool Kactus Cafe. There was a lean, prosperous looking doctor-type eating a taco in the parking lot and Ernie asked him if the food was ok. "Well, I have been eating lunch here for 20 years..." Jim wasn't hungry, Ernie and I ordered burritos.

Carole took our order and listened to our travel tales. She wanted to drop everything and come along. The burritos were big and satisfying - Ernie got a double-bean chicken, I settled on a tasty chile releno. Ernie was hoping for a little more heat but he got what he expected. Kool Kactus was pretty cool.


Above, Carole of the Kool Kactus Cafe.

A little further along I-10 the heavy traffic completely shut down so we abandoned the interstate and tried to find a road that was marked on our map. We wandered in the desert for about 40 minutes, found Palm Springs, and continued along to the Salton Sea.

On the edge of the sea, we checked the gas and decided to be safe and top-off the tank. For no reason, we drove past one station and stopped at another, Clark's Travel Center, Indio, California.

Here we found a historic marker. Click the photo to see it better.


The Salton Sea is a stark, beautiful wasteland, about 250 feet below sea level. The body of water straddles the San Andreas fault and is a drain for the surrounding desert. In recent decades the water supply to the lake has almost completely vanished and the sea water has become more saline and more toxic. Once hopeful resorts and businesses are dead and decaying. The empty beaches stink of dead fish. Still, a blue haze hovers over the water and the place is eerie and moving.










Above, what is this place? Marina? Night club?

We need to get to a place called Blythe to find our hotel for the night. We must back-track many miles to reach I-10. Ernie suggests that we take a short-cut through the Chocolate Mountains. On the map, lines the size of spider's legs suggest this route. The roads are un-marked. Ernie asks at the local convenience store, finds someone who speaks english, and gets vague directions for a "lonely road" that will take us back to I-10.

Our first attempt ended here.


Finding the real lonely road, we drove at least 15 miles through the Chocolate Mountains, never seeing another car. The real surprise was that this unmarked road had its own interchange with I-10.





Here I-10 skirts the Joshua Tree park. We headed east again, toward our hotel in Blythe, and saw this sunset in the rearview mirror.